For quite some time now, Amazon‘s given people the choice to self-publish their writing onto the Kindle Store. But in what seems like a partnership that was meant to happen, Amazon is about to offer photographers the same option with photo books through Blurb. That’s not just for tablets, either; they’ll be letting us publish and sell actual books.

For those of you that don’t know, Blurb is a website that lets you create and sell books; but photography books are what make the website so popular. Now that they’ve made a partnership with Amazon, we’re given the advantage of publishing and selling those books through the biggest shopping center in the world.

I’ve used Blurb once, to create a photography book as a project for my digital media class a year and a half ago. The thing that caught my attention the most was how much quality was put into the material used for the finished book they sent me. The hardcover I ordered for my photos to be printed in legitimately felt like I just picked up a copy of my own work from a Barnes & Noble.

With the services being offered now by websites like these, the biggest thing outside publishers are able to offer now is their ability to market. Taking into account the resources we have today, we don’t need a publisher to get our photography out there. But what we do need for selling books is the same thing we’d need to attract viewers to a blog: the ability to get our name out there.

Right now, Blurb is offering enrollment for the Amazon program for free. If you guys are interested in trying it out, it’d be a good idea to sign up before that deal ends. And remember one thing when you design your books: you’re not signed by a publisher, but your books should always look like something a publisher would sell. Give the same effort to the look and feel of the book as you do to the photography that’ll comprise its pages.

John Aldred is a portrait and animal photographer in Lancaster, England. you can see some of his work on his website, or find him on Facebook or Twitter.

Stefan Kohler is a conceptual photographer, specialized in mixing science, technology and photography. He is one of the founders of Kamerakind, based in Traunstein, Southern Germany. You can follow him on Facebook or on 500px.com

Liron Samuels is a wildlife and commercial photographer based in Israel.

When he isn't waking up at 4am to take photos of nature, he stays awake until 4am taking photos of the night skies or time lapses.